Perfect Storm
by RLD Flame-point Callie-co
Summary: Sequel to Lightning Strikes, but can be read alone. Two years after the events of LS, Bella goes to New York for a fresh start and finds herself caught up in a conflict between the Petrelli brothers. Meanwhile, Edward helps Elle deal with the fallout from her last mission with the Company.
1. Prologue: Vendetta

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

**Timeline: set in Heroes s1. None of the events in this story have any real resemblance to the plot of any of the Twilight books.**

**Warnings: Elle and Bella are kind of OOC, but I think once the different ways their characters developed prior to this story are explained it'll all make sense.**

**Pairings: Peter/Bella friendship/pre-romance, established Edward/Elle, all others are canon.**

**This was originally conceived as a standalone story, but then I decided to tie it in with my previous Heroes/Twilight fic Lightning Strikes. For those of you who still want to read it on its own, here's a brief rundown of things you need to know from LS to make this easier to understand:**

**1) Elle came to Forks before Bella, resulting in Edward meeting her first and falling in love with her instead. Bella did eventually move there and cross paths with Edward, but nothing romantic ever happened between them.**

**2) While snooping in the records of the facility where she lived and worked, Elle found documents showing that in her human life, Alice Cullen was Angela Petrelli's sister. They were sent to Coyote Sands to be studied, and while they were there James hunted Alice down, resulting in her being turned. Angela and Alice are now aware of their connection, but Angela hasn't told the rest of her family anything about Alice or vampires and Alice has kept her distance from them while still monitoring them via her visions.**

**3) Elle's last assignment as an agent was Gabriel Gray/Sylar, and their interaction proceeded more or less the same as in canon, until Edward's presence caused things to go sideways and Elle ended up so badly hurt that Edward had to make her a vampire to save her, which had some unforeseen side effects on her mind and personality, so if she seems a bit OOC, that's why. The Quileutes are currently unaware that he broke their treaty by changing her, and they have to stay away from Forks in order to keep it that way or trouble will ensue.**

**More will be revealed as you read on, but if you have any pressing questions feel free to ask me.**

Prologue: Vendetta

_Los Angeles_

The house had been a hive of activity all day, crawling with police, crime scene technicians, medical examiners, and even a couple of FBI agents, but now night had fallen, the law enforcement personnel had gone home, the bodies had been removed, and the house was deserted - except for one man. He stood outside, the moonlight glinting off his horn-rimmed glasses, watching the empty street until a single car cruised up. He hadn't seen this particular car before but nevertheless knew it was the one he was waiting on - it was expensive, flashy, and sported such darkly tinted windows that he couldn't make out anything of the interior. He knew, however, that the people inside it would have no trouble seeing out.

The car stopped a few houses down the street from the murder scene so as not to arouse suspicion if any insomniac neighbors happened to be looking out their windows, and two teenagers got out and walked the remaining distance. As he observed the female of the pair, Noah Bennet couldn't help feeling slightly unsettled - a vampire's quick, graceful movements were always disconcerting to humans, but more so in the case of this particular vampire…because she hadn't been a vampire the last time he saw her. Elle Bishop was still recognizable, but her face had become white and bloodless - although it'd been pretty bloodless last time Noah laid eyes on her too, what with so much of her blood having drained out of her body - and her features were more angular and inhumanly perfect. The most startling change, though, was in her eyes; formerly gray, they were now a deep gold that matched her companion's.

The other vampire moved half a step in front of her when they reached Noah; his protective instincts were obviously still intact even though Elle, who had never been anywhere close to defenseless, was now practically impervious to damage. "Hello, Noah."

He greeted the two vampires with a polite nod. "Edward, Elle. You're not easy to get hold of these days."

"Maybe we just didn't want to talk to you."

Both Noah Bennet and Edward Cullen ignored Elle's remark; they were too used to her blunt, sarcastic, and often cutting ways to be surprised or offended. The latter said, "Given your very persistent efforts to contact us, we thought we had better meet with you although we can't stay long - California is not a good place to be a vampire."

"So it'd be great if you could just tell us what's so important that you left Carlisle all those messages at work," Elle added. "Who died?"

Noah raised his eyebrows.

"A substantial amount of blood was spilled in that house - more than one or perhaps even two people could survive losing," Edward explained, "so naturally Elle deduced that someone recently died here. And since you asked us to meet you at this address, I presume you wanted to call our attention to that fact."

"You're right. Follow me, please - there's something I think you need to see." Noah led the way into the house - all three of them ignoring the yellow crime scene tape across the front door - and straight to the kitchen table, where a large puddle of frozen blood surrounded one of the chairs. "The man of the house, James Walker, was found frozen solid in this chair with the top of his skull removed. It looks like he died here, but as you can see the temperature's nowhere near low enough to freeze a body. His wife was found pinned to the stair's railing, leading the police to believe there were multiple assailants because one person couldn't have lifted her that high. I disagree."

"You mean you think whoever killed these people is like me… I mean, like I used to be?" Elle asked.

"An evolved human, yes. I don't suspect a vampire since, as Edward pointed out, this climate's too sunny for your kind."

"Also, none of us would have wasted so much blood," Edward interjected.

Noah nodded. "James Walker's scalping is also significant. He had cryokinetic abilities. His wife was an ordinary woman, and her head was left intact. Primatech's scientists have posited that posthumans' special abilities have their roots in the person's brain-"

"So somebody opened up the guy's brain to take away his power? Why?"

"To have it for themselves, maybe. Elle, do you remember your last assignment with the Company?"

"I don't think either of us are likely to forget Gabriel Gray any time soon," Edward said sharply. He was suddenly tense, his fingers curled into claws, his voice carrying a hint of a growl.

"Yeah, it's hard to forget a guy who almost kills you." Uncharacteristically, Elle was completely, deadly serious. "Do you think he did this?"

"I'm sure of it. This is just the latest in a string of similar murders across the country, and there's no doubt in my mind that he's behind them all." Noah's gaze slid away from Elle, who was now staring disbelievingly at him - she couldn't imagine anyone less likely to become a serial killer than the Gabriel Gray she'd met two years ago - to Edward. "It's a shame you didn't kill him when you had the chance."

Edward stared back unblinkingly, not deigning to respond to the slightly reproachful comment. It was true that he could have killed Gray very easily, but that wasn't what he was there for; he'd only been in the clockmaker's apartment because Elle was there, and when the encounter took a life-threatening turn, getting her out safely was the only thing that mattered to him. He'd barely succeeded - she had been hurt so badly that he had to change her to keep her alive, and if he had stopped to make sure Gray was dead, she might not have survived at all. Besides, Noah Bennet had been there too; he could've killed Gabriel Gray himself if he thought the man was too dangerous to be allowed to go free, but he hadn't because doing so would have meant disobeying orders. If his belief that Gray was responsible for several grisly murders had any truth to it, he probably felt guilty about that now. _Putting the blame for Gray's continued existence on me would no doubt ease his conscience, but it isn't my job to clean up Primatech's messes. Elle was my only reason for having any involvement whatsoever with that organization, and I thought we'd seen the last of them when her association with the Company was terminated._

He suddenly regretted granting Noah's request for a meeting just to stop him from pestering Carlisle; it wasn't like he'd inconvenienced the doctor _that_ much, and Edward had a feeling Noah was about to cause a massive amount of inconvenience for him and Elle. _We should have done as Alice asked and gone to New York instead._

"Are you saying this is Edward's fault? You can't even say for sure that Gabriel killed these people!" Elle snarled, defending her mate.

Noah almost backed away, stopping himself just in time. He'd never been afraid of Elle when she was human and he was determined not to start now, but it was undeniably worrisome to have a vampire giving you the sort of glare she was giving him now. "Yes, I can. Come with me." He forced himself to turn his back on her and walked into the living room. She and Edward made no sound as they followed him, but he knew they were right behind him; their proximity made the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably.

The Walkers' killer had used their blood to write a message on the living room wall: I'M COMING FOR YOU, ELLE.

"Gabriel Gray may not be the only person with the ability to steal powers from someone else, but he is the only one you've come into contact with. He's left threats like this at the scenes of his other murders; it looks like he's holding a grudge against Edward for injuring him and you because… I'm not entirely sure what his issue with you is," Noah said grimly.

"He was pretty pissed when he found out I was only making nice with him because the Company wanted to research his power-stealing thing," Elle offered. "So if for some reason he thinks killing people I've never even heard of is the way to get back at me, I guess we should stop him."

Edward was surprised, not because she took it for granted that he would help her - of course he would - but because he hadn't expected her to care about Gray's victims. After all, as she'd just pointed out, they were unknown to her, and sometimes Elle didn't even care about people she _did_ know. "And how will we do that?"

"Well, first we have to find him. I'm an okay tracker - better than you."

"That isn't a very high recommendation of your skills, my dear," Edward replied, prompting Elle to stick out her tongue at him.

###

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked as they drove away, leaving Noah to make his own way home from California. "Gabriel Gray is not your sole responsibility."

Elle slid down in her seat and braced her feet on the dashboard, then straightened up again when it started to cave under the pressure. She hadn't been a vampire long enough to have lost all her human habits, which sometimes led to accidents now that she was strong enough to dent cars. "I know he isn't; there were other people involved, and the whole thing wasn't my idea. I didn't even want to do it, but they made me…and I didn't say no." She paused to give Edward a chance to argue, but he said nothing - after all, she _had_ had a hand in helping Gray unlock his killer instincts even if she hadn't been the driving force behind it. "I don't see anyone else stepping up to stop him. Besides, we don't have anything better to do."

"That's not entirely true. I spoke to Alice earlier today, and she asked if we would consider going to New York to keep an eye on her nephews - she saw 'some very interesting things' in their future. She'd go herself, but living so close to so many humans would be very hard for Jasper, and she doesn't want to leave him."

Elle's nose wrinkled as she thought it over; Angela and Arthur Petrelli weren't her favorite people, but she'd never met their sons. _Guess I should give the boys a chance - they might not be as bad as their parents. Gabriel will still be around in a couple weeks._ "Sure, New York City. Could be fun. You'll never guess who else is there."

Edward scanned her thoughts, but Elle had become rather adept at not thinking about things she didn't want him to hear, leaving him clueless. "Who?"

"Bella - she moved there for college and scored a new internship. You're not gonna believe who her boss is: Nathan Petrelli. And I told her she could use our old place in Manhattan, but I bet she wouldn't mind sharing it with us if we ask nice."

"I'm sure she would do anything you asked of her." The bond between Elle and Bella Swan was something of a mystery to Edward; he understood why Bella looked up to Elle, but he could never figure out the reason for Elle's apparent fondness for the clumsy human, especially since she'd had nothing but contempt for her when they first met, calling her a spineless wimp. But then, Elle had become much kinder since her conversion from human to vampire repaired the residual brain damage from tests Primatech performed on her when she was a child - tests her father had sanctioned - doing away with the resulting emotional instability and giving her a fresh perspective on her life…

…And Bella was far from spineless these days. The old saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' had proven true in her case. Alice hadn't been very specific about what she saw happening to her human nephews, but if Bella was soon to start working for Nathan, things were certainly about to get very interesting for him.

**Next chapter will pick up in episode 1x01, and Peter will meet Bella.**


	2. Spilt Coffee

**So here we finally have Bella and Peter's first meeting! For any of you who read Resurgence, I'm afraid it isn't nearly as exciting as the way I introduced them in that story, but I hate to rehash the same plot twice. You may also notice that I've changed the character tags to list Peter/Bella as a romantic pairing, but what I said in my note on the prologue, when I classified their relationship as 'friendship/pre-romance' still stands. That means that while they will eventually get together, it's going to be extremely slow-burning, so no fluffy romantic scenes of the kind that took place between them in my previous series.**

**For disclaimer purposes, some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from Heroes episode 1x01.**

Chapter 1: Spilt Coffee

_Manhattan, NY_

"You get out here, yes?"

Peter Petrelli awoke with a jolt as the taxi stopped, startled at the realization that he'd dozed off, and smiled when he saw that he'd arrived at the headquarters of his brother's congressional campaign. He needed to tell someone about the dreams he'd been having lately, and he couldn't think of anyone better than Nathan.

Unfortunately, Nathan was not in an understanding mood. "Why the hell would I understand that you think you can fly?" he demanded, looking at Peter like he'd just confessed to still believing in the Tooth Fairy.

"Because you're my brother." Peter couldn't quite keep the surprise and hurt out of his voice. Maybe he and Nathan had recently drifted apart to some degree, especially since Nathan had decided to seek higher office, but he'd thought he could still count on his beloved big brother to believe in and support him. Nathan, however, didn't seem to care about anything anymore except in terms of how it affected his public image.

"Look, if you've been having weird dreams, just go see a doctor, get some drugs, but do not pull a Roger Clinton on me, man. I'm eight points down in the polls!"

Peter shrugged Nathan's hand off of his shoulder. "This isn't about you, Nathan. Something is happening to me-"

Before he could further explain what he thought was happening to him, a young woman carrying a Styrofoam cup full of steaming coffee tripped over the leg of a chair that was suddenly pushed into her path and crashed into him. Peter instinctively reached out to catch the girl before she fell down, but he couldn't stop the coffee from sloshing out of her cup and splashing on him.

Nathan rolled his eyes, wondering who let her carry around hot liquid without a lid - she'd only been working for him a few days and he'd already learned that she was basically a walking accident waiting to happen. It was lucky Peter was wearing a few layers, or he might have been burned. Then a senior staff member stuck the latest draft of a speech under his nose, and he promptly forgot about his brother's mishap with the new intern as he started reading.

The girl quickly extricated herself from Peter's grip, blushing and apologizing for her clumsiness.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault. Can I have that?" He gestured at the paper napkin she'd been using to hold her cup.

She nodded sheepishly and handed the napkin over. "I really am sorry," she repeated as he dabbed at the rapidly spreading stain across his chest.

"Great, it's not coming out," he muttered.

"I can get it out. You'll have to change first, but I can make your shirt good as new." She didn't really want to do his laundry, but since she was the one who put the stain there, offering to remove it seemed like the right thing to do. If she spilled coffee on Nathan's shirt, he would certainly expect her to fix it. _And I'd have to take it to the dry-cleaner's._ "It's lucky you dressed down today."

"Excuse me?"

"I heard you say Mr. Petrelli is your brother - I thought your whole family was allergic to casual clothing."

Peter glanced at Nathan, who was wearing a suit, just like he did every day, and decided it was, if not a valid assumption, at least an understandable one.

"Then again, I never heard of you before today, so I'm guessing you're not a lawyer or a politician like your brother. You do something else, don't you? Something Mr. Petrelli - the _other_ Mr. Petrelli - disapproves of."

His gaze snapped back to the girl, sizing her up with a lot more interest than she'd previously warranted. "Are you some kind of mind reader?" He'd never put much stock in that sort of thing, but if he could fly, who was to say there weren't other people out there who could pick thoughts out of someone else's head?

"Me?" She let out a startled little laugh. "No. I know someone who's very good at reading people, and I picked up a thing or two. It's not magic, just observation."

"Interesting. Mind if I try?"

She looked a little apprehensive, but she backed up a step and spread her arms invitingly. "Okay. What can you tell about me?"

Peter looked her up and down, taking in the extremely subtle makeup, the un-highlighted wavy dark hair, the black slacks and plain, matching blouse, and sensible shoes; this girl obviously wasn't blowing huge amounts of money on hairdressers and high fashion. Unlike many of the women Peter had met in places like this, she was trying to make herself look older, not younger. "You're an intern, right? You're dressed more casually than most of the people here and you're a lot younger, but you're trying to fit in with them. And you must be new since this is the first time I've seen you."

"You're good, Mr. Petrelli."

"Peter - like you said, Mr. Petrelli is my brother." He held out his hand.

She shook it after a second's hesitation. "Bella Swan."

Nathan circled back toward them, looking put out; Bella quickly pulled her hand back and melted away. "Peter, we have to go." Nathan held up his phone. "Mom's been arrested."

"For what?" Peter asked incredulously.

Nathan heaved an exasperated sigh. "Shoplifting."

###

Bella diligently worked late into the afternoon, but no matter how hard she tried to bury herself in her job, she couldn't get her encounter with the younger Mr. Petrelli - _Peter_ - off her mind. He was the first person she'd conversed with in a long time, not because he was her professor or her boss or anybody else she needed to deal with, but just because… Why had she talked to him for so long, anyway? Sure, he was the boss's brother, so she couldn't very well be rude to him, but she didn't have to hang around and chitchat about his career and clothing choices.

_Why did I do that? _She slammed the manila folder in front of her shut and shoved it into a filing cabinet. _And why am I freaking out over it? It's only natural that he made an impression on me: he's not at all the type of person I'd have expected Mr. Petrelli's brother to be if I had known he had a brother, not to mention the nicest guy I've come across since I left Forks - most of the people I've met here would have chewed my butt for spilling coffee on them, but he actually seemed human. I suppose he's attractive too, by certain standards. What girl wouldn't want to talk to him? _She could only think of one such girl: herself. Bella Swan did not chat up random men; she avoided them, just like she avoided all unnecessary human contact. There was no reason it should be any different with Peter Petrelli. So what if he seemed nice? It wasn't as if she liked him or anything.

Her cell phone rang, and she snatched it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bella," purred the bell-like, almost musical voice on the other end of the phone.

"Elle." Bella automatically relaxed at hearing her best friend (her only friend, really). Social interactions had always been a painful ordeal for Bella, with the single exception of Elle Bishop. Elle was the one person with whom Bella felt safe enough to let her guard down - there was no point keeping it up when Elle had already seen her at the lowest point in her life, already knew everything she tried so hard to hide from the rest of the world. "What's up?"

"You haven't changed your mind about taking me up on the offer to let you crash at the brownstone in Manhattan, have you?"

"No, I'm still there. Why?"

"How would you feel about a roommate?"

"As long as it's you, I'd love it. Is Edward coming with you?" In the two years she'd known Elle, Bella had noticed that her boyfriend followed her nearly everywhere she went, which didn't seem to bother Elle in the slightest. Bella couldn't imagine her leaving Edward behind for an extended stay in Manhattan.

"Yeah, but he promises to be his usual boring, well-behaved self. And you know you don't have to worry about us eating up all your food or being too noisy. You won't even know we're there."

"But I want to; I'd like to see you. When should I expect you?"

"Tonight - we're already in New York, but Edward said I should check that you're okay with us staying with you before we showed up. See ya soon."

The phone abruptly went silent; Elle wasn't one to bother with pointless niceties like protracted goodbyes once she'd said what she needed to say. Bella pressed the button to hang up and put her phone back in her purse, now even more determined to keep her distance from Peter Petrelli. _Unless he actually makes me wash his shirt, I'll probably never see him again, and I don't want to. It'll be better that way, especially now that Elle and Edward will be here - safer for everybody._

Playing it safe was one thing Bella excelled at. If she'd just been more cautious a couple of years ago… Well, she had certainly learned her lesson in that regard, yet she couldn't help feeling that some of life's lessons came at too high a price.

It was now an acceptable time to go home, so she left the office, bumping into Nathan on her way out. "Oops! Sorry, Mr. Petrelli."

"Don't worry about it."

Something in his tone made her pause; he sounded distracted, distressed…worried? It could just be the stress of the campaign getting to him, but for some reason she asked, "Mr. Petrelli…is everything okay?"

He turned around, clearly about to wave away her concern…and his mask of composure cracked just the tiniest bit. "No, Swan, everything is not okay. My brother's in the hospital."


	3. The Set-Up

**Warning: this chapter includes relatively non-graphic mentions of past sexual assault, PTSD/Rape Trauma Syndrome, and character death.**

Chapter 2: The Set-Up

Bella's eyes widened. "Will he be okay?"

"He'll live." Nathan couldn't say whether Peter would be okay; he'd just thrown himself off a twenty-story building because he'd somehow developed the irrational belief that he could fly…except it hadn't been so irrational after all. Now Nathan wasn't sure _he'd_ be okay.

"What happened to him?"

Nathan's focus snapped back onto his young intern. Telling her the truth was out of the question, but he hadn't had time to figure out what spin to put on Peter's antics. Luckily, he didn't have to spin anything for Bella Swan. "Never mind. The important thing is that I'll make sure he's taken care of, and I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us for now."

"Sure. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Her shoulders hunched slightly as if she were suddenly uncomfortable. "I mean, your brother seemed like a nice guy, so…"

"You'll be the first person I call." Nathan didn't know what she could do for him, but he filed her offer away in his mind for future consideration.

###

Peter's doctors kept him sedated overnight, and when he finally woke up, his recollection of the events that had led to him being hospitalized seemed foggy. Nathan quickly decided to use Peter's memory loss to its best advantage; he couldn't afford to have his brother running around playing superhero, nor did he want him to get into the unhealthy habit of throwing himself off tall buildings. "You jumped off a roof - you tried to kill yourself."

"What? I didn't try to kill myself, I… You were there. You caught me."

"You jumped, Peter," Nathan said firmly, "two stories down to a fire escape. I climbed up and carried you down. That's what happened."

Peter frowned thoughtfully as he weighed the plausibility of Nathan's version of events, and the fact that he didn't immediately buy it made Nathan nervous. If only there was a way to get these ridiculous notions about flying out of Peter's head for good… In a brilliant burst of inspiration, Nathan hit upon an excellent use for his oh-so-helpful new intern. Perhaps Peter would give up chasing his flying fantasies if Nathan convinced him to pursue the girl instead. Bella Swan was certainly attractive enough to provide an adequate distraction.

Nathan had some misgivings about his plan - when Bella offered to help in any way she could, letting him set her up with Peter was undoubtedly not what she had in mind, but Peter wasn't terribly assertive when it came to women, and Bella was too oblivious to the nuances of human interactions to notice anyone being interested in her unless they were upfront about it. With any luck, they would dance around each other for weeks - long enough for Nathan to get elected. Or if they actually got together, Bella might be good for Peter; although painfully lacking in social skills, she seemed as if she could be sweet and sensitive like him, but she was too sensible to put up with his nonsense. She could be exactly what he needed to get his head out of the clouds and back in the real world.

"That new girl in my office was pretty worried about you," he added with feigned nonchalance. "I don't know if you remember running into her yesterday-"

"Bella Swan?" Peter cut in. His memory of her was crystal clear, though Nathan had mischaracterized their brief encounter - she was the one who'd run into him. "Why?"

"I guess she liked you."

"Really?" Peter's expression showed a hint of skepticism. "You're not trying to get me to work for you again, are you?"

Nathan held up his hands. "I still say watching old people die isn't a career, but if that's what you want to do, go ahead. I know I can't talk you out of anything you've put your mind to. Get some rest, and no more crazy talk about flying, okay? I'll see you later; right now I've got to get back to work."

He walked out, leaving Peter to reflect on what he'd said. Peter thought he remembered flying, but the memory was too hazy for him to be positive; it was possible he'd simply fallen, like Nathan said. He also thought he remembered Nathan catching him, but that could have just been his brother carrying him off the fire escape. The last thing he really recalled clearly was jumping off the roof, bailing their mother out of jail just before that…and, prior to that, Bella Swan, who had read him like a book. He couldn't say the same about her, though - he hadn't gotten any sense that she particularly liked him. He certainly wouldn't have expected her to be concerned about his health.

_Still, it was nice of her to ask Nate how I was doing._ If he was stuck here too long, she might even visit him, which would be a welcome relief from the boredom of lying in a hospital bed._ I wouldn't mind seeing her again…as long as she doesn't bring coffee._

###

Bella never showed up, but when he was discharged at last and stopped to check for mail on the way back to his apartment, Peter found his red sweatshirt in his mailbox, completely stain-free and neatly folded. When he unfolded it, a piece of paper fell out; he caught it before it fluttered to the floor and read the single word written on it: _Sorry._

He was sure Bella was the author, but he didn't know what she was sorry for - spilling hot coffee on him, or vanishing off the face of the earth for the last couple days. She hadn't been at Nathan's campaign headquarters or ADA's office, not that Peter was looking for her; he'd only stopped by to touch base with Nathan and assure him he wasn't about to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, and if he happened to mention Bella's name during the course of their conversation, that was purely coincidental.

Nathan told him she attended New York University and spent a great deal of her free time in the library there, so - after an internal debate over whether showing up at a place frequented by a girl who may or may not be avoiding him for some unknown reason qualified as stalking - Peter took a cab to the main campus in Greenwich Village the next day. It was public property, and he'd been meaning to do some more research on the possibility of human flight anyway. The university library was as good a place as any for that.

Once he got there, however, Peter found that more of his attention went into keeping an eye out for Bella than reading. He eventually spied her at a table in the rear corner, poring over some huge book, but before he approached her it occurred to him that he'd never thought about what he would say. They'd only just met; how could he explain his urge to seek her out in a way that wouldn't make him sound like a nutcase?

Just then Bella glanced up, her gaze sweeping the area in front of her table, and Peter moved back into the rows of bookshelves, hoping she hadn't seen him staring at her. A moment later she got up and headed for the restroom. Peter debated whether to go over and talk to her when she came back or clear out before she caught him, but before he made a decision, someone pointedly cleared their throat at him.

Peter turned around. Bella stood there, hands on her hips. He tried to smile, but her frosty expression made it hard. "Uh…hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for a book…and you."

"Well, you found me, but since you just stayed over here and didn't say anything, I thought I'd better come to you."

_So she did see me. Damn it. _ "I was trying to decide what to say," Peter admitted.

Bella softened her stance, letting her arms drop to her sides. "You look good. I mean medically," she quickly clarified, her face heating. An almost accusatory note crept into her voice as she added, "You look perfectly healthy for a guy who just spent a couple days in the hospital."

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

She bobbed her head in a sharp, jerky nod. "That's a relief. Your brother was very evasive when I asked him what had happened to you, so I was afraid maybe it was something serious, like a brain tumor."

"There's nothing wrong with my brain," Peter assured her, "but I appreciate the concern. And thanks for bringing my shirt back. That was you, wasn't it?"

She lowered her eyes demurely. "It was - coffee stains are a pain to get out, so I figured you wouldn't want to spend an hour scrubbing it right after you got out of the hospital - but you didn't have to thank me. Or if you did, you could've done it over the phone."

"I don't have your number. Wanna give it to me?"

Bella blinked. "Why do you need my number now? You've already said everything you needed to say to me."

"But I might want to talk to you again."

"Why?" She appeared deeply perplexed by the idea.

"Because I'd like to know you better. With you working for my brother, we'll probably see a lot of each other."

Somehow, Bella hadn't given much thought to the fact that their social circles had been put together like a Venn diagram. The corners of her mouth turned down; this was going to make staying away from him hard.

"So how do I get in touch with you?" Peter prompted.

Unable to think of a polite way of brushing him off, Bella helplessly rattled off her cell phone number and he added it to his list of contacts, after which they went their separate ways. Bella returned to her table and tried to resume reading, only to find that her hands were shaking too badly to turn the pages. This was the second time Peter Petrelli had invaded the bubble she kept around herself, and it terrified her.

A hand suddenly landed on the back of her neck, bringing with it a sensation like an ice cube being rubbed over her skin. Bella ducked away with an irritated huff. "Elle, can you please not do that?"

The blonde closed Bella's book, pushed it aside, and sat on the table where it had been, propping her feet on Bella's chair so that the brunette was bracketed in place. "How'd you know it was me?" she asked, pouting.

"Edward wouldn't try to scare the crap out of me like that. Were you just spying on me?"

"Maybe I'm just here for a book."

Bella's only reply was an impolite snort; she was sitting near the biology section, and she didn't believe for one second that Elle was interested in any of the books there. She was right - Elle had actually been spying on Peter in case he decided to throw himself off another roof, because Alice would be displeased if her nephew ended up splattered on some street as a puddle of crushed human goo. When he decided to talk to Bella instead, Elle couldn't resist eavesdropping.

"Or maybe I wanted a look at the guy my best friend likes - don't deny it. He got an honorable mention in our all-night catch-up session the night I got here. You never bother telling me about any of the people you meet."

"I thought-"

"That you didn't make as strong an impression on him as he did on you?"

"Yes! I didn't expect him to track me down!" Bella hissed, keeping her voice to a heated whisper in consideration of her surroundings.

"Well, he did, and now he has your number. He can probably get your address from his brother, too." Nathan, Elle knew, would be only too happy to hand it over.

Bella's head snapped up, her eyes widening in panic. "I'm sorry - I'll find some way of getting rid of him-"

Elle cut her off. "You don't have to do that; even if we did meet, I don't think there's much chance of him figuring out what Edward and I are. Unless it's him you're protecting? Don't worry, he'll be perfectly safe with us. I respect you too much to sink my teeth into your shiny new toy. He's all yours."

Bella wondered what Elle meant by that - she definitely wasn't interested in Peter's blood - but all she said was, "It's not you or Edward I'm worried about. Remember what happened to the last guy who got too close to me?"

_22 months ago_

For the first few weeks after her release from the strange hospital she'd found herself in after being attacked in Port Angeles, Bella holed up in her room, only emerging for meals and trips to the bathroom. Charlie treated her like she was made of glass, but she much preferred staying inside with him over venturing out of her safe haven. When she eventually had to return to school, her classmates and even her teachers treated her differently; no one knew how to talk to her, so most of them avoided speaking to her at all. They talked about her, though - poor Bella, the new girl who didn't know her way around, had wandered into a deserted alley while searching for a bookstore and was brutally beaten and gang-raped by four drifters who passed through Port Angeles at exactly the wrong time. The fact that her attackers had been murdered that same night only made the shocking crime more sensational.

The only person who didn't treat her like a pariah was Mike Newton. Instead of turning him off, her ordeal had made him more protective of her, and he seemed determined to act as Bella's bodyguard at school. His attention made Bella uncomfortable - she had never reciprocated Mike's feelings for her and certainly wasn't going to now, because the thought of any man touching her made her feel like vomiting. Still, she put up with him following her everywhere between classes and walking her to her truck after the last bell until the day he inadvertently crossed a line.

Feeling secure in the new level of intimacy between them, Mike casually put his arm around her, and Bella was transported back to that night in Port Angeles. She relived the feeling of her attackers' ringleader grabbing her shoulders and pulling her in, pressing their bodies against each other, thrusting his pelvis into her backside while shoving a hand under her shirt, roughly groping her flesh. She remembered the leer in his voice as he said, "Look what we got here, boys! Not too bad, huh?"

By the time she snapped out of the flashback, she had Mike pinned to her truck's door, his eyes bulging and face turning purple as she slowly but steadily exerted crushing force on his windpipe. She hadn't put her hands on Mike, though. She was a good four feet away from him.

The instant she realized what she was doing, the force holding and smothering Mike disappeared, but he still needed surgery to repair his trachea. The damage to his brain from oxygen deprivation was irreversible, though, and Mike would never be the same. Tragically, he died a few days later, leaving the people of Forks to wonder what - or who - could have caused his injuries.

One person who never came under suspicion was Mike's traumatized and grief-stricken friend, Bella Swan. Even though the four men who assaulted her had met their end in a similar way, beaten with more force than any human should be capable of but with no DNA evidence pointing to the perpetrator left on their bodies, she obviously wasn't strong enough to have inflicted such damage. Besides, she was a recent survivor of rape - a victim - and the police chief's daughter to boot. Entertaining for even a second the notion that she might have anything to do with such gruesome murders was simply unthinkable.

A frantic phone call brought Elle and Edward to Washington, though they always refused to come within a hundred miles of Forks, and with their help Bella learned to control her frightening new ability. She was always afraid of hurting someone else the way she'd hurt Mike, though, so from that day on she became even more unsociable than she already was. Her aloof manner discouraged people from talking to her any longer than they had to, and especially from encroaching on her physical space, which suited her perfectly. She felt safer when people kept their distance. More importantly, it kept them safe from her.

_Present day_

Peter Petrelli was the first person who wasn't instinctively put off by her, and when he wasn't, she didn't step up the cold shoulder the way she would have if it had been anybody else. In fact, she'd barely managed not to give in to the impulse to check on him, find out exactly what was ailing him, or ask Edward to use his connections to find out for her. When Peter came to her, she was irrationally pleased to hear he hadn't contracted some serious illness, and then she had willingly handed over her contact information. Whatever it was about this man that affected her so strangely, it had gone too far.

"Sure, I remember Mike; I never thought he was that great for you. Look, I know you still feel bad about how things turned out with him, but you shouldn't let one little accident turn you off making friends with other humans forever. Face it, Mike was so boring you probably would've wanted to kill him sooner or later anyway, but maybe you'll have better luck with Peter. I'm pretty confident you won't get bored with him."

**After some complaints about the last chapter's length, I managed to produce a longer one this time! Can't promise every future chapter will top 3000 words, but I'll try to at least make sure they're longer than the last one. **

**Now, as for content: yes, I killed off Mike Newton. I'll be exploring the physical side of Bella's ability a lot in this story as well as the mental, and Mike's death was a way to highlight how dangerous it can be, especially in the 'hands' of a damaged girl. So why did I give Bella such a dangerous power? Because she's more often the helpless victim, and I enjoy turning her damsel-in-distress role on its head and exploring her potential to be more. Plus, guys rushing to protect her is fun, but if they need to be protected **_**from**_** her instead? Even more fun.**

**Also, a little instant attraction between her and Peter did creep in here, but as readers of my super-long story The Sorcerer's Bride know, instant attraction does not a quick hook-up make, especially since in this case they don't even recognize it as attraction. Bella's convinced a romantic relationship is the last thing she'll ever want, and Peter still thinks he's in love with Simone Deveaux at this point. Luckily Nathan and Elle are astute enough to nudge them closer together like Alice did for Elleward in LS, and the 'nosy friend who sees that the main characters are perfect for each other before they do' element makes another appearance in my work. **


End file.
